Grand Slam champions in tennis | NBC Sports Grand Slam champions in tennis / Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal advanced to the U.S. Open final in 2010 without dropping a single set, becoming just the eighth man to reach the final of all four majors in the Open era -- and, at 24, the second youngest to do so. By beating Novak Djokovic 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 in the championship match, Nadal completed both a career Grand Slam and Golden Slam. His U.S. Open championship marked his ninth major title, as he previously has won at the French Open in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010, at Wimbledon in 2008 and 2010 and at the Australian Open in 2009. Roger Federer After losing in the French Open finals each of the previous three years, Roger Federer finally won the title in 2009.

Not only was it his 14th major title, tying him with Pete Sampras for the all-time record, but it also gave Federer a career Grand Slam. In addition to winning the Australian Open four times (2004, 2006, 2007, 2010), the French Open once (2009), Wimbledon six times (2003-2007, 2009) and the U.S. Open five times (2004-2008), Federer reached at least the semifinals of 23 consecutive Grand Slam semifinals. Serena Williams The most recent addition to the class of players with career Grand Slams, Serena Williams joined their ranks with an Australian Open victory in 2003. The only player still competing with wins in all four majors, Williams has four Australian Open singles titles, one at the French Open, two at Wimbledon and three at the U.S. Open. She also has eight women's doubles major titles and four mixed doubles titles at Slams.

Beginning with the 2002 French Open and ending with the 2003 Australian Open, Williams won four consecutive Grand Slam titles, a feat referred to as the "Serena Slam." Andre Agassi When Andre Agassi won the French Open singles title in 1999, the victory gave him a career Golden Slam. He had already won Wimbledon (in 1992), the U.S. Open (in 1994), the Australian Open (in 1995) and an Olympic gold (in 1996). Agassi later added four more major championships to his legacy. Until Roger Federer won his French Open title, Agassi was the only men's player to win major titles on at least three different surfaces. Steffi Graf Not content with a mere calendar-year Grand Slam, Steffi Graf earned a unique Golden Slam in 1988 by winning all four major singles titles and an Olympic gold in Seoul. In Australia, Graf didn't lost a single set. In Paris, she cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 victory in just 32 minutes in the finals. Wimbledon and the U.S.

Open proved to be a little more challenging, but she won both in three-set finals. Graf is also the only player to have won all of the majors at least four times. Martina Navratilova When Martina Navratilova won the U.S. Open for the first of four times in 1983, she added her name to the impressive list of players with career Grand Slams. Navratilova retired with a 1,442-219 singles record, 18 Grand Slam singles titles, 31 Grand Slam men's doubles titles and 10 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. Chris Evert In 56 Grand Slam appearances, only twice did Chris Evert fail to make it to at least the quarterfinals in the singles draw.

She had at least two titles at each of the Grand Slam events when she retired in 1989, winning the French Open in 1974, 1975, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1985 and 1986, Wimbledon in 1974, 1976 and 1981, the U.S. Open in 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980 and 1982 and the Australian Open in 1982 and 1984. Billie Jean King Although Billie Jean King had won six Grand Slam titles by the end of the 1971 season, she could not claim a career Grand Slam to her credit. That changed in 1972, when she won the French Open for the first and only time. King finished her career with 12 Grand Slam singles titles, 16 women's doubles titles and 11 mixed doubles titles.

Don Budge The first player ever to achieve a calendar-year Grand Slam, Don Budge lost just one set in the finals en route to winning the Australian, French, Wimbledon and U.S. Championships in 1938. The American had won both Wimbledon and the U.S. Championships the previous season as well. Budge turned professional after achieving the impressive title feat. Rod Laver As an amateur in 1962, Rod Laver won all four Grand Slam singles titles in addition to 17 other singles titles. While he was rarely challenged in three of the majors -- losing just one set at Wimbledon and two sets at the U.S. Championships -- he had a tough time at the French Championships. Laver had to win three consecutive five-setters in France to take the title. Rod Laver After becoming a professional at the end of 1962, Rod Laver was barred from the Grand Slam events until the start of the Open era in 1968. The following year, Laver repeated his calendar-year Grand Slam achievement. The Australian compiled a 106-16 win-loss record in 1969.

Maureen Connolly In 1953, Maureen Connolly (nicknamed Little Mo) entered all four Grand Slam tournaments for the first time in her career. The move paid off, as she won the singles title at each event and became the first female tennis player to earn a calendar-year Grand Slam. Connolly lost just one set during that run. Margaret Court In addition to winning a record 24 Grand Slam singles titles and 62 Grand Slam titles overall, Margaret Court was the first woman to achieve a calendar-year Grand Slam in the Open era. In 1970, the Australian player cruised to straight-set victories in the Australian and French Opens. She then outlasted Billie Jean King in a 14-12, 11-9 thriller at Wimbledon before winning the U.S. Open in three sets. Court also has a career "boxed set" of Grand Slam titles, winning all four singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles titles at some point throughout her career. Fred Perry The first player ever to achieve a career Grand Slam, Fred Perry accomplished the feat at the age of 26. After winning his first U.S.

Open title in 1933, Perry added titles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 1934. The following year, he finally broke through for a singles championship at the French Open. From 1934 to 1938, Perry was the No. 1-ranked player in the world. He finished his career with a singles record of 106-12 and eight Grand Slam singles titles. Roy Emerson Included in Roy Emerson's record 28 Grand Slam titles are career Grand Slams in both singles and doubles. The Australian's best tournament was the Australian Championships, which he won in 1961, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966 and 1967. He won singles titles twice at each of the other majors: U.S. Championships in 1961 and 1964, French Championships in 1963 and 1967, and Wimbledon in 1964 (giving him the career Grand Slam) and 1965.

Doris Hart Two years after winning her first Grand Slam title (in women's doubles at Wimbledon), Doris Hart won the first of her six Grand Slam singles championships. That 1949 win was the only time she would take home the title at the Australian Championships. She later added French Championships victories in 1950 and 1952, a Wimbledon title in 1951 and completed the career Grand Slam with a U.S. Championships title in 1954. She successfully defended her title at that tournament the following year. Shirley Fry Throughout her tennis career, Shirley Fry won every Grand Slam singles and women's doubles title at least once. After earning her first Grand Slam victory in 1951 at the French Championships, Fry won Wimbledon and the U.S. Championships in 1956 and the Australian Championships in 1957. Following that achievement, she never again played in a Grand Slam event. Top 10 Grand Slam Champions Women's Singles; Grand Slam Winners tweet Current World No. 1 Serena Willians is at No 2 with 22 Grand Slams Titles in Top 10 Grand Slam Champions Women’s Singles list.

Margaret Court is at Top with 24 Titles while Steffi Graf is at No 2 with 22 Grand Slams titles. Top 10 Grand Slam Champions Women’s Singles is a list of those great ladies who won the Major title the most. The Grand Slam journey consists of the Australian Open in mid-January, the French Open in May/June. Wimbledon in June/July, and the US Open in August/September. The Australian and US Opens are played on hard courts, the French on clay, and Wimbledon on grass. Wimbledon is the oldest, founded in 1877, followed by the US in 1881, the French in 1891, and the Australian in 1905. Here is the complete list of Grand Slam Champions: #1 Margaret Court 5 5 Margaret Court is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player. She is best known for her sporting career, in which she accumulated more Major titles than any other player in history. With 24 Grand Slam titles she is at top position in Top 10 Grand Slam Champions Women’s Singles.

In 1970, Court became the first woman during the open era to win the singles Grand Slam. Court won a record 24 of those titles during her career. She also won 19 women’s doubles and 21 mixed doubles titles, giving her a record 64 Major titles overall. She is the only woman to win the mixed doubles Grand Slam, and she did it twice. Court is the only one in all of tennis history to complete a multiple slam set in all three disciplines, Singles, Doubles and Mixed. #2 Serena Williams 3 6 American professional tennis player, Serena Williams is currently ranked No. 1 in women’s singles tennis. Williams holds the most Major singles, doubles, and mixed doubles titles combined amongst active players, male or female. Her record of 38 Major titles puts her seventh on the all-time list: 22 in singles, 14 in women’s doubles, and 2 in mixed doubles. She is the most recent player, male or female, to have held all four Grand Slam singles titles simultaneously and only the fifth woman ever to do so.

Williams has won four Olympic gold medals, one in women’s singles and three in women’s doubles, an all-time record shared with her sister Venus. Indeed she is the one of the most dominant female athlete of the modern era . #3 Steffi Graf 6 5 Steffi Graf is a former World No. 1 German tennis player. She is at no 2 in the list of Top 10 Grand Slam Champions Women’s Singles. She won 22 Grand Slam singles titles, second among male and female players only to Margaret Court’s 24. Her 22 singles titles mark the record for most Major wins by a tennis player since the introduction of the Open Era in 1968. She is the only player to win at least 4 singles titles at each Grand Slam. In 1988, she became the first and only tennis player to achieve the Calendar Year Golden Slam by winning all four Grand Slam singles titles and the Olympic gold medal in the same calendar year.Graf is regarded by many to be the greatest female tennis player of all time. She was ranked World No.

1 by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) for a record 377 total weeks—the longest period for which any player, male or female. #4 Helen Wills Moody 4 7 Helen Wills Moody was an American tennis player. She has been described as “the first American born woman to achieve international celebrity as an athlete”. Wills won 31 Grand Slam tournament titles (singles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles) during her career, including seven singles titles at the U.S. Championships, eight singles titles at Wimbledon, and four singles titles at the French Championships. She never played at the Australian Championships. From 1919 through 1938, she collected a 398–35 match record, including a winning streak of at least 158 matches, during which she did not lose a set. She also won two Olympic gold medals in Paris in 1924. With 19 Major titles in women’s singles she is at no 3 in Top 10 Grand Slam Champions. #5 Chris Evert 2 4 Martina Navratilova is one of the greatest tennis players of all time and Grand Slam Champions.

She won 18 Grand Slam singles titles including Wimbledon a record nine times, including a run of six consecutive titles, 3 Australian open, 2 French open and 4 US open. She also won 31 major women’s doubles titles, and 10 major mixed doubles titles. She and King each won 20 Wimbledon titles, an all-time record Navratilova was World No. 1 for a total of 332 weeks in singles, and a record 237 weeks in doubles, making her the only player in history to have held the top spot in both singles and doubles for over 200 weeks. Navratilova also holds the records for most singles titles (167) and for most doubles titles (177) in the open era.

#7 Billie Jean King Stefanie Graf Stefanie Graf 23-time major champion, 12-time finalist Career Titles Winner 1987, 1989, 1993, 1995, 1996 Olympics Winner of the Women’s Singles Exhibition Tennis Tournament at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games Gold Medal in Women’s Singles at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games Bronze Medal in Women’s Doubles at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games Silver Medal in Women’s Singles at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games Fed Cup Member of the German Federation Cup Team 1986-1987, 1989, 1991-1993, 1996 Member of the German Championship Federation Cup Team 1987, 1992 Overall Record 28-4 Stefanie Graf Stefanie Graf Citizenship: DEU Born: June 14, 1969 in Bruhl, Germany Played: Right-handed With 22 major singles titles and the only player to win the “Golden Grand Slam,” capturing all four majors and an Olympic Gold Medal in the same

 year, Steffi Graf laid claim to being anointed one of the greatest women’s players in history.

While Margaret Court owns the record for most major titles (24), no female player since the onset of the Open Era in 1968 won more majors than the versatile Graf, who accumulated championships regardless of playing surface. The German also placed a stranglehold on the world No. 1 ranking for 377 cumulative weeks, the longest reign of any male or female player in history. For a women’s record 186 consecutive weeks – from August 17, 1987 to March 10, 1991 – Graf was atop the world of tennis. Starting with the 1987 French and lasting until the 1990 French, Graf advanced to 13 consecutive major singles finals, winning nine of them. On tennis’s biggest stages at Wimbledon, the Australian, French and US Opens, Graf was a finalist 31 times, compiling a 282-34 record; a 90 percent clip.

With her devastating inside-outside forehand, perhaps the best and biggest single shot the women’s game has ever witnessed, Graf carved out a dominant stretch of excellence: She holds the record for the longest consecutive stretch ranked in the world Top 2 – 10 years, 3 months, 1 week – stretching from March 2, 1987 to June 8, 1997. Graf compiled a 902-115 (.887) career singles match record, just percentage points away from all-time leader Margaret Court (.914) and Chris Evert (.901). Her 107 career titles rank right below Navratilova (167) and Evert (157).

Graf was the International Tennis Federation World Champion a record seven times (1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1996) and honored as the WTA Player of the Year eight times (1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996). Following her fourth of five championships at the US Open in 1995, Graf became the only player male or female player in history to win each of the four major singles titles at least four times. Four times in her career she won three of the four majors contested in a given year (1989, 1993, 1995, and 1996).

Graf captured the Australian Open four times (1988, 1989, 1990, 1994); the French six times (1987, 1988, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1999), Wimbledon seven times (1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996) and the US Open five times (1988, 1989, 1993, 1995, 1996). She lost ten or less matches at each major (47-6 Australian; 87-10 French; 75-8 Wimbledon; 73-10 US Open). After winning her sixth French and advancing to the Wimbledon Ladies Championship final in 1999, the German nicknamed the “Fraulein Forehand” (by Bud Collins, for her devastating trademark shot) retired from tennis.

Only four other players in history had achieved a calendar year Grand Slam (Maureen Connolly, Court, Don Budge, and Rod Laver twice). She had earned $21,895,277 in career prize money. In head-to-head competition against players also ranked No. 1 the world during her 17-year career, Graf posted an 87-41 record. Against No. 2 ranked players she was a remarkable 42-5; 100-23 versus No. 3; 94-6 against No. 4 and 28-6 versus No. 5. Cumulatively, she was 440-91 against 57 players ranked the world top 10, never losing a match to 21 of them, and only once to 12 others. In her 32 trips to a major singles final, Graf faced Spain’s Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario in major singles finals seven times, going 5-2. Monica Seles was an opponent in six major finals and the duo spilt at 3-3.

Graf and Navratilova faced each other six times and Graf had the advantage, 4-2. “Steffi Graf is the best all-around player,” said Evert, the Hall of Famer whose name is always mentioned as one of the all-time greats. “Martina won more on fast courts and I won more on slow courts, but Steffi came along and won more titles on both surfaces.” Like many European players who achieved stardom on the professional tour, Graf was taught how to hit a tennis ball at an extremely young age. Her father Peter began teaching his daughter at age 3. Focused and driven to become a champion, Graf hit the junior tournament circuit with abandon, becoming a European Champion 12s and 18s in 1982. She turned professional in 1982, at age 13, and her carefully developed maturation was keenly managed by her father Peter and her coach Pavel Složil, limiting the number of tournaments she entered and astutely grooming her all-court game. There was no discernable difference between Graf’s playing styles or court demeanor, whether she played on hard, grass or clay courts.

“She played like a robot, like a machine, no emotions … strong with a stone face,” said fellow German Claudia Kohde-Kilsch, who won eight WTA tour singles titles during her career, but was 2-12 versus Graf. Graf had the athletic skills necessary to become a champion. She had what her competitors said was the best footwork in the game. She was immensely fit due to a structured and rigorous training schedule that made her strong, fast and quick, her legs being a weapon themselves. She attacked the ball on the rise, lifting herself off the ground – and nearly out of her shoes – to pound her forehand drive. Her timing was impeccable, honed with hours of serious practice time. Graf’s mental toughness and desire to win gave her an edge few could match. She said that the game’s top players helped her raise her level, but the true competitor was herself. Her professional career began modestly in October 1982 with a 6-4, 6-0 loss at Stuttgart, Germany against 20-year-old Tracy Austin, who had won the US Open in 1979 and 1981. The following year Graf played her first full professional season.

The first of her 107 tournament victories came on April 13, 1986 when the 16-year-old Graf defeated Evert at the Family Circle Cup in Hilton Head, South Carolina, 6-4, 7-5. A superstar was unleashed and over the next four years Graf won 46 WTA Tournaments, her finest season coming in 1989 when she captured 14 tiles. Graf’s ascent to greatness was produced at a slow burn, then turned red hot. She captured her first major championship at the French Open in 1987, defeating Navratilova 6-4, 4-6, 8-6. In 1988 and 1989, Graf was the most dominant player in the world, winning seven of the eight majors contested (she lost in the 1989 French Open final) and by the end of the 1990 season won eight of 12 major titles in a three-year stretch, was a finalist in three majors and a semifinalist at Wimbledon.

Her cumulative record placed her in rarified space: She was 78-4 in major tournament play those three years. In winning the 1988 Grand Slam and Olympic Gold medal, Graf dispatched Chris Evert at the Australian (6-1, 7-6), Natasha Zvereva at the French (6-0, 6-0), Navratilova at Wimbledon (5-7, 6-2, 6-1), Gabriela Sabatini at the US Open (6-3, 3-6, 6-1), and Sabatini at the 1988 Games in Seoul (6-3, 6-3). Graf made a bid to capture back-to-back Olympic Gold Medals at the 1992 Barcelona Games, but was defeated by upstart Jennifer Capriati. “She was just dominating,” Mary Joe Fernandez explains. “She was winning her matches so fast.

People went out against Steffi knowing they were going to lose, it was a just a matter of how long you were able to keep her out there.” If not for the upset defeat to 17-year-old Sánchez -Vicario at the 1989 French Open, a match that she led 5-3 in the third, Graf would have claimed back-to-back calendar Grand Slams. At the Australian she toppled Helena Sukova (6-4, 6-4), took Wimbledon for a second straight time over Navratilova (6-2, 6-7, 6-1) and defended her US Open crown over Navratilova (3-6, 7-5, 6-1). While Graf had to deal with assorted injuries from 1991-1996, particularly early in the tour season which forced her to miss three Australian Opens, she was still winning major titles at a regular rate. Three straight Wimbledons were won from 1991-93.

The 1993 season saw her flirt with another potential Grand Slam as she took all but the Australian (4-6, 6-3, 6-2 loss to Monica Seles). She won three of four majors in both 1995 and 1996 (injuries forcing her to withdraw from the Australian). It wasn’t until the 1997 season that Graf’s knees and back began to flare up enough to affect her play. She missed winning a major for the first time in 10 years and saw another rising young player, Martina Hingis, take her spot as the world No. 1 ranked player. Graf battled through those injuries, closing out her career in 1999 with a French Open title at age 30, appropriately over Hingis who became her heir apparent, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2. Her final major tournament appearance came in the 1999 Wimbledon final where she fell to Lindsay Davenport, 6-4, 7-5.

Graf’s retirement in 1999 coincidentally came when other celebrity athletes also closed out their careers, including Michael Jordan, John Elway, Wayne Gretzky, Barry Sanders, and fellow German star Boris Becker. “I have done everything I wanted to do in tennis,” Graf said. “Right now, I’m perfectly fit. This is no way about injuries.” In the year of her retirement, Graf was named the Greatest Female Tennis Player of the 20th Century by a panel of tennis experts assembled by the Associated Press. At the annual ESPN ESPY Awards, she earned the Female Sports Award of the Last Decade. Her monstrous career included playing seven years on the German Fed Cup team where she compiled a 20-2 singles record and led the team to champions in 1987 over the United States and 1992 over Spain. Four times in her illustrious career Graf won the season-ending Tour Championships (1987, 1989, 1993, 1995).

Although doubles was clearly not Graf’s specialty, she dabbled in the competition enough to win the 1988 Wimbledon Ladies Doubles Championship alongside Gabriela Sabatini (the duo were finalists at the 1986, 1987, and 1989 French). She also won 11 WTA titles and compiled a 173-72 record doubles record. Even before her career concluded, Graf had her eye of the future. In 1991 she founded The Steffi Graf Youth Tennis Center in Leipzig, Germany. She is also the Founder and active Chairperson of Children for Tomorrow, a non-profit foundation with the goal of implementing and developing projects to support children who have been traumatized by war or other crises. In 2001 she married fellow Hall of Famer Andre Agassi, making them one of only two married couples enshrined into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. While the debate will remain as to whom was the best female player in history, in March 2012, the Tennis Channel chose Graf as the greatest in its list of 100 greatest players of all time.

Grand Slam Best Results Serena WILLIAMS - Olympic Tennis | United States of America Serena WILLIAMS Olympic Games 2000 , 2008 , 2012 The golden girl of tennis With four Olympic gold medals to her name, not to mention a record 22 singles and 14 doubles titles in Grand Slam events, Serena Williams can justifiably lay claim to being the greatest women’s tennis player of all time. Born in 1981 in Compton, Los Angeles, and one of five sisters, Serena was coached from a very early age by her father Richard, who was determined to take both her and elder sibling Venus to the top. Having first played in competitions from the age of five, the two sisters developed their prodigious games in the years that followed and turned professional in 1995, the start of their inexorable climb to the pinnacle of the women’s game. Olympic glory Their Olympic adventure began at Sydney 2000, where they won the first of their three women’s doubles gold medals, and where Venus also claimed the singles title to go with the Wimbledon and US Open crowns she won that year.

For her part, Serena had opened her Grand Slam account a year earlier, winning the 1999 US Open title at the age of 18. The crowning moment of Serena’s Olympic career would eventually come at London 2012, by which time her list of career achievements had grown significantly and included a Career Grand Slam. As well topping the WTA Rankings on several occasions, she had five Australian Open and Wimbledon titles to her name and was also a three-time US Open winner and a one-time French Open champion. The two siblings faced off in a number of Grand Slam finals in that time, the first of them coming at the 2001 US Open, a match Venus won. They then achieved the unique feat of contesting four consecutive Grand Slam finals between 2002 and 2003, with Serena winning on each of those occasions. Though the younger of the two Williams sisters missed Athens 2004 through injury, she was back on the Olympic stage at Beijing 2008, where she and Venus collected a second women’s doubles gold after beating Spain’s Anabel Medina and Virginia Ruano Pascual 6-2 6-0.

Serena tuned up for London 2012 by winning her fifth Wimbledon title, an achievement that spurred her on in her bid for Olympic glory on the same courts just three weeks later, where she began what would be a commanding campaign with victory over Jelena Jankovic of Serbia. She then eased past Poland’s Urszula Radwanska, Russia’s Vera Zvonareva, Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki and No1 seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and arrived in the final without dropping a set and having only conceded 16 games. Waiting for her there was Russia’s Maria Sharapova, who had no answer to Williams’ power game and succumbed to a 6-0 6-1 defeat. “I was so focused here,” said a jubilant Serena. “I remember I was serving and I was thinking: ‘Serena, this is your best chance to win a gold medal. You’re at Wimbledon. You’re on grass. You play great on grass. Pull it together!

Just win this!’ And that’s what I thought about.” In taking the singles title, Serena became the fourth player after Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal and Steffi Graf to complete the so-called Career Golden Slam, and she also became the first female player in the history of the game to win singles and doubles titles at the Olympics and all four major tournaments. But that was not the end of her London 2012 exploits. A third Olympic doubles title came her way the day after her singles triumph, with the irrepressible Williams sisters, who did not lose a set in the competition, capping a flawless run to gold with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Czech duo Andrea Hlaváčková and Lucie Hradecká. “Crazy,” said Serena after her London double. “I'm always copying her. I forgot that she did it in Sydney and I do it here. We're the same doubles team.

We just split this to singles, so it's cool.” World No1 for 186 weeks, disappointment in Rio In making it four US Opens later that year, Serena reclaimed the No1 spot in the world rankings, a position she would hold for the next 186 weeks, through to September 2016. In the meantime, she won her second and third French Open crowns, her fifth and sixth US Opens, her sixth Australian Open and her sixth and seventh Wimbledon titles. In the process she took her tally of Grand Slam singles titles to 22, equalling Graf’s open-era record. It was during that golden period that she completed the second “Serena Slam” of her career, holding all four singles Slam titles simultaneously, a feat she had first achieved in 2002 and 2003. Contemplating her bid for more Olympic gold in Brazil, Serena said: “Tennis players never really thought about winning the Olympics. You grew up thinking about winning grand slams, but now, with tennis in the Olympics, of course you think about it. The Olympics have had such a big impact on everyone.

It will probably affect my schedule a little bit and I probably won't be playing as much because I will be in Rio. I am really looking forward to it.” She tuned up for the 2016 Games by winning two more titles at Wimbledon, overcoming Germany’s Angelique Kerber in straight sets to land a seventh singles crown and then teaming up with Venus for a seventh doubles triumph at the All England Club. As well as taking their tally of Grand Slam doubles titles to 14, that victory maintained their record of never having lost a final in a major tournament, the Olympics included. The siblings did not fare so well in Brazil a few weeks later, however, going out in the first round, while Serena went down to Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina 6-4 6-3 in the third round of the singles. “It’s obviously disappointing but, you know, she played really well and I think the better player won today,” said Serena afterwards. “It didn’t work out the way I wanted to, but at least I was able to make it to Rio.

That was one of my goals.” Hampered by a shoulder injury, she went on to lose to the Czech Republic’s Karolína Plíšková in the semi-finals of the US Open and promptly called time on her 2016 season. Now 35, Serena has yet to put a date on her retirement and has designs on adding even more achievements to her already stellar career record. Tennis - Revisiting Serena Williams' Grand Slam titles, Nos. 1-5 Seed: No. 1 Final Opponent: Defeated No. 2 seed Venus Williams 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-4 Greatest Scare: In the semifinals, Serena found herself down 5-1 against No. 4 seed Kim Clijsters , the top seed went on to win 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. The Overview: It seemed only fitting that if Serena were to accomplish the rare feat of winning four consecutive Grand Slam titles -- a feat second only to completing a calendar year Grand Slam -- she would have to work a little harder at closing the deal than at setting it up.

It certainly panned out that way Down Under as the top seed completed her first "Serena Slam." With the win, Williams also became only the sixth woman to complete career Grand Slam. In fact, Serena almost never got her engine started. She lost the first set of her first-round against Frenchwoman Emilie Loit 3-6, then had to navigate a perilous tiebreaker and a long third set before she won it, 7-5. Things were a bit easier after that, but in that semifinal comeback against Clijsters, Serena survived two match points. If you've ever wondered where Serena's extraordinary confidence even in the most dire of straits was established, look no further. Did You Know? Steffi Graf completed the last calendar-year Grand Slam in 1988 (it was a unique "Golden Slam," because she also won an Olympic gold medal in singles that year). One other Open era player completed the equivalent of a "Serena Slam": Martina Navratilova did it when she won the French Open in 1984.

Andre Agassi - Tennis Topics - ESPN ATP Wins Andre Agassi is an eight-time Grand Slam title winner who is considered one of the best ball-strikers in the history of tennis. He is one of only five men in history to win the career Grand Slam. In his 21-year career, Agassi won 60 singles titles, 870 matches and spent a total of 101 weeks atop the ATP rankings. Agassi finished his career with more than $31 million in prize money, ranking second only to Pete Sampras at the time of his retirement in 2006. Agassi is the only player to be ranked in the top 10 in three different decades and the only player in the Open era (since 1968) to have won at least one tournament in 18 different years. He will be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in July 2011. Agassi was born April 29, 1970, in Las Vegas. His father, Mike, is an Iranian immigrant and naturalized U.S. citizen. He was also an Olympic boxer for Iran in 1948 and 1952.

He was a strict taskmaster who pushed his son toward tennis and was determined that Andre would be a top tennis player. Agassi moved to Bradenton, Fla., at age 13 to attend Nick Bollettieri's Tennis Academy. Agassi was initially going to stay for only eight weeks because that was all the tuition his father could afford. But two weeks into his stay, Agassi played in front of Bollettieri for the first time. After 10 minutes, Bollettieri called Andre's father and said, "Take your check back. He's here for free." Reaching The Peak (1986-96) With Bollettieri as his coach, Agassi turned pro in 1986. He won his first professional match, 6-4, 6-2, against John Austin in a hard-court tournament in La Quinta, Calif. In his Grand Slam debut, Agassi lost to Jeremy Bates in four sets in the first round of the 1986 U.S. Open. At his first appearance at Wimbledon in 1987, Agassi was easily dispatched by Henri Leconte in straight sets, winning a total of five games.

Frustrated by his lack of success, the strict traditions at the Wimbledon and the tournament's all-white dress code, Agassi would skip the tournament for the next three years. Agassi won his first ATP tournament as a wild card in a 1987 hard-court tournament in Brazil. In 1988, Agassi won six titles while reaching the semifinals at the French Open and the U.S. Open. He ended the year as the No. 4 player in the world. In 1990, Agassi reached his first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros, losing to Andreas Gomez in four sets. In 2009, Agassi revealed that his trademark long hair was a wig, and part of the reason he struggled in that 1990 French Open final was he feared the wig would fall off. Later in the 1990 season, Agassi lost to his main rival and good friend Pete Sampras at the U.S. Open finals in straight sets. It was Sampras' first career Grand Slam title.

Agassi finished runner-up again at the French Open in 1991, but Agassi also made his return to the All-England Club, ending his hiatus from Wimbledon. Agassi had a good run into the second week, reaching the quarterfinals. Surprisingly, the next year, at Wimbledon of all places, Agassi captured his first Grand Slam title, defeating Boris Becker, John McEnroe and Goran Ivanisevic along the way. Seeded 12th in the tournament, he is the fourth-lowest-seeded man to ever win at Wimbledon. In 1993, Bollettieri ended his coaching relationship with Agassi because the coach felt that Agassi didn't work hard enough. Brad Gilbert became Agassi's new coach. After having wrist surgery, which Agassi thought could have been career-ending, Agassi recovered in a big way the next season by winning his second Grand Slam at the 1994 U.S. Open. Unseeded at the event, he became the third unseeded player to win the tournament.

1995 was his most productive year as he won a career-high seven titles, played in 11 finals and compiled a personal-best 73-9 match record. He became the 12th player in the history of ATP Rankings to rank No. 1 on April 10. He had a career-best 26-match winning streak during the summer hard-court season. He also captured the Australian Open in his first career appearance Down Under. At the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Agassi became the first American man to win an Olympic gold medal in singles since Vincent Richards in 1924. Reaching The Valley (1997) Ranked eighth in the ATP Rankings at the start of the year, Agassi struggled with wrist issues again in 1997, allowing him to play in only 24 matches (12-12 record) while missing three of the four majors. Agassi's ranking dropped as low as 141st in the world. He fell out of shape and lacked interest and dedication to the sport; he also married actress Brooke Shields. Many observers thought his career was close to being over.

Agassi later admitted that he was using crystal methamphetamine during this period, and failed an ATP drug test. However, he lied to the ATP about how the drug had ended up in his system and avoided a suspension. Career Renaissance (1998-2003) Agassi rededicated himself to the sport by getting in better shape and made the biggest one-year jump into the top 10 in the history of the ATP Rankings (since 1973). He climbed from No. 122 at the end of 1997 to No. 6 in 1998. He had a 68-16 record with five titles in '98. His 68 match wins tied for the lead on tour that year. Agassi had his greatest success at the majors in 1999, reaching the finals of three straight Grand Slams while winning the French Open and U.S. Open. At Roland Garros, he became the fifth man (and second American) to win all four Grand Slam titles in his career. He finished the year No. 1 for the first time in his career.

Agassi opened up the 2000 season with a win at the Australian Open, his third major win in the last four Grand Slams dating back to the French Open. He became the first player to reach four straight Grand Slam finals since Rod Laver won the Grand Slam in 1969. In 2001, Agassi defended his Australian Open title for the seventh major win of his career. Later that year, at the U.S. Open, he lost to Pete Sampras in an epic match consisting of four tiebreaks (without a service break) in one of the tournament's greatest matches of all time, and the greatest match between the two in their 34-match rivalry (Sampras was 20-14 versus Agassi). The 2003 Australian Open was the last Grand Slam title for Agassi. He joined Roy Emerson (six), Jack Crawford (four) and Ken Rosewall (four) as the only players to win the Australian Open four times. Elder Statesman (2004-06) Agassi remained a top-10 player in the latter years of his career. He made an improbable run to the finals at the U.S.

Open in 2005, including one of the greatest comebacks of his career as he rallied from two sets down against James Blake in the quarterfinals. Agassi's body eventually broke down in 2006 due to ankle, back and leg injuries. He missed the first two majors of the year and finally bid farewell at the U.S. Open, losing to 112th-seeded Benjamin Becker in the third round. Davis Cup Career Agassi was a part of three Davis Cup-winning teams for the United States. He compiled a 30-6 career Davis Cup record, the third-most Davis Cup wins in U.S. history behind John McEnroe and Andy Roddick. From 1990 to 1997, Agassi did not lose one match in Davis Cup play. He won 16 consecutive matches during that span. Image Is Everything Agassi was one of the most eccentric personalities in the sport of tennis, and even in all of sports, during his early playing career. He promoted a "rebel" attitude off the court with his endorsements of Canon and Nike. He made the catchphrase "Image is everything" memorable.

This image also showed on the court as he played with an earring, had long rock star-like blonde hair (which he later revealed to be a wig) and sported colorful shirts and denim shorts. Agassi has been married to 22-time Grand Slam singles winner Steffi Graf since Oct. 22, 2001, and they have two children, Jaden Gil and Jaz. Agassi was previously married to actress Brooke Shields from 1997 to 1999. Agassi also was known for having a relationship with singer/actress Barbra Streisand in the early 1990s. Autobiography In 2009, Agassi released a tell-all book, "Open", in which he detailed his use of crystal methamphetamine during the 1997 season. He also admitted that his trademark long hair was actually a wig, which he believes may have cost him the 1990 French Open title. Andre Agassi Career ATP Tour Wins Date

Question: Which tennis player won the "golden grand slam" of all four grand slam titles and an Olympic Gold in 1986?
Answer: Steffi Graf